ISLAMABAD: Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal told the National Assembly that Pakistan faces a serious child mortality crisis, with nearly 400,000 children aged between one and five dying every year.
The figure means around 1,300 children die every day, according to the minister, who said a significant number of these deaths could be prevented through timely and effective medical care.
Speaking during a National Assembly session, Kamal said the situation surrounding child mortality in Pakistan could not be described as satisfactory.
He said Pakistan remains among the countries with the highest rates of deaths among children under five.
However, the minister stressed that the figures represented more than a public health statistic.
“These are not merely statistics,” Kamal said, describing the deaths as the loss of children whose lives could potentially have been saved.
He called for greater attention to the issue and urged reforms in the country’s primary healthcare system to reduce preventable deaths.
Maternal Mortality Also a Major Concern
Kamal also highlighted Pakistan’s high maternal mortality rate.
He said around 11,000 mothers die every year during pregnancy or because of pregnancy-related complications.
The minister said the deaths of mothers and children reflected wider weaknesses in the healthcare system and required a coordinated response from the government and relevant institutions.
He also expressed grief over recent tragedies involving children and offered condolences to their families.
Kamal said no one could bring back children who had lost their lives. However, he argued that authorities must examine what could be done to prevent similar tragedies.
“The real question is what we can do so that the next child can be saved,” he said.
He added that simply mourning deaths and offering condolences would not solve the problem unless authorities addressed weaknesses in the healthcare system.
Minister Defends Parliamentary Record
The health minister also defended his record of parliamentary oversight.
Kamal said he had regularly attended meetings of the Senate and National Assembly standing committees during the previous 14 months.
He said parliamentary records could verify his attendance and claimed he had not deliberately missed a single standing committee meeting during that period.
The minister said he was ready to provide all relevant information to parliament and its committees and insisted that no information would be concealed.
Call for Healthcare Reform
Kamal said the issue of 400,000 child deaths in Pakistan should not be viewed as a series of isolated tragedies involving individual hospitals.
Instead, he said, the figures pointed to broader challenges within the country’s healthcare system.
He called for joint efforts by the government, parliament and relevant institutions to strengthen primary healthcare, improve access to timely medical treatment and prevent avoidable deaths.
The minister’s remarks put the scale of child mortality in Pakistan under renewed parliamentary scrutiny, highlighting the need for measures that can turn preventable deaths into lives saved.
